Lewis Hamilton reveals why Ferrari lost momentum in Canadian GP Sprint Qualifying finale. Lewis Hamilton explained Ferrari’s puzzling loss of pace in Canadian GP Sprint Qualifying.

Ferrari’s Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying campaign followed a now-familiar pattern: early promise, followed by frustration when the decisive laps arrived. After looking genuinely competitive through the opening phases of qualifying, the Scuderia ultimately had to settle for the third row, with Lewis Hamilton securing fifth place and Charles Leclerc lining up sixth for Saturday’s Sprint race.

For Ferrari fans, the initial signs had been encouraging. The SF-26 showed respectable pace in both SQ1 and SQ2, particularly on the medium compound tyres, raising hopes that the Maranello team might be able to challenge closer to the front in Montreal. Instead, when the switch came to the soft tyres for the final shootout, Ferrari’s momentum disappeared while rivals found another level.

Lewis Hamilton, who had looked particularly comfortable throughout the day, ended SQ3 with a best lap of 1:13.326. That was enough for fifth on the grid, but still left him several tenths adrift of George Russell’s Sprint pole benchmark.

Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, endured a more complicated session, dealing with braking concerns and traffic issues, but still finished close behind his Ferrari teammate.

Lewis Hamilton points to Ferrari’s mysterious Q3 drop

Speaking after Sprint Qualifying, Lewis Hamilton admitted Ferrari’s final-session drop-off was difficult to fully explain.

The seven-time Formula 1 world champion suggested that while Ferrari had made effective setup progress between Free Practice 1 and qualifying, the balance shifted once the session reached its decisive phase.

Lewis Hamilton indicated that Ferrari had enjoyed one of its strongest qualifying performances of the season up to that point, thanks to targeted setup changes and productive engineering work. However, once SQ3 began, the competitive picture changed dramatically. He hinted that rival teams may have been extracting more performance from their power units in the final segment — a theory that aligns with Ferrari’s known straight-line deficit compared to Mercedes on power-sensitive circuits like Montreal.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve heavily rewards engine performance, with repeated heavy acceleration zones exposing any horsepower shortfall. That makes Ferrari’s current power unit weakness especially costly against rivals Mercedes.

A different preparation approach for Lewis Hamilton

One notable factor in Lewis Hamilton’s performance was his unconventional preparation for the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

Rather than relying on simulator work at Maranello, the British driver focused heavily on engineering meetings, data analysis and setup refinement — a decision that appears to have helped him feel more connected to the SF-26 from the opening session. Lewis Hamilton suggested he had felt more comfortable in Canada than at any other race weekend so far this season, crediting the more analytical preparation approach rather than virtual simulator running.

The Ferrari driver also explained that the team had worked extensively to improve overall balance, ultimately finding a setup direction that gave him significantly more confidence behind the wheel. The key question now is whether Ferrari can translate that progress into stronger race pace — because while Sprint Qualifying exposed familiar weaknesses, the rest of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend still offers opportunities to recover.